India's leather industry thrives as lockdowns blunt China exports
In the first eight months of the current financial year, the period from April to November 2022, India’s leather industry enjoyed positive results as sagging exports from China left gaps in the market that India managed to fill.
In the eight-month period, India earned more than $3.6 billion in export revenues according to the Indian Council for Leather Exports (CLE). This is compared to $3 billion in the same period of the previous year and represents growth of 19.3%.
Finished leather exports fell by 1.8% to $291.6 million from $296.4 million. In the same period, saddlery and harnesses declined by 11% to $161 million from $180 million.
On the other hand, leather footwear exports soared by 30% to $1.6 billion from $1.25 billion, and leathergoods followed suit with an increase of 11.9% to $918 million from $820 million.
If this pace of exports continues until the end of this fiscal year, then the Indian leather industry could surpass last year’s final export figure of $4.9 billion.
